La transition énergétique offre-t-elle de nouvelles potentialités aux bassins d’exploitation du charbon et du lignite en Allemagne ?

Abstract

Most coal and lignite basins in Germany have seen in recent decades a severe decline in their production. Only a few mines are still active, while most of the formerly exploited surfaces are under rehabilitation. However, these territories remain in the future places of power generation from imported fossil resources and are simultaneously being restructured by the energy transition that aims to develop new potential. The geographical features of the coalfields are indeed conducive to the development of new energy forms of production. Particularly in lignite basins, large mining wasteland surfaces are an exploitable potential for the development of new renewable energy that is precisely characterized by the need for major surfaces available. In the coalfields, former mining areas are less widespread, but can also be exploited by renewable energy systems. Added to this is the possibility of exploiting gas resources contained in coal seams. Using the examples of the development of renewable energy in the eastern German lignite basins, as well as mining projects of mine and coal gas in the Ruhr, the article interrogates the relationship between the traditional energy system, particularly powerful in these regions, and new energy system for a possible renewal of the mining areas.

Keywords

• Coal basin
• Energy transition
• Mining wastelands
• Renewable energies
• Coal gas
• Germany